1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to methods for controlling and displaying information using computers, and more particularly, to the presentation of information in a windowing environment by program applications, particularly electronic spreadsheets and databases.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Spreadsheet and database applications allow users to view and manipulate tabular data, i.e., information organized into rows and columns. Often, the tabular data is too large to fit on the display screen. Existing applications address this problem by providing users with the ability to scroll information both vertically and horizontally. In a windowing desktop environment, such as Microsoft Windows and the like, the problem of fitting information on the screen is exacerbated, because a plurality of windows can appear on the screen simultaneously, and each window may be significantly smaller than the display screen. Furthermore, users of most windowing desktop environments may interactively or dynamically change the size of a window at any time, which may reduce the available space for displaying tabular data.
Several existing systems attempt to overcome the problem of using tables that are wider than the window space available to display them.
One prior art method, chiefly implemented in database applications rather than spreadsheet applications, is that when a record is selected for viewing or editing, it is displayed in a separate window or form. The disadvantage of this method is that only one record at a time may be viewed or edited in its entirety, and the viewing or editing window may obscure all or part of the window that displays tabular data in rows and columns.
Another prior art method, taught in U.S. Pat. No. 5,317,306, allows the user to determine which columns are most important to him or her, and to designate those columns as "sticky." When a table contains more columns of information than can be displayed simultaneously, the user must scroll horizontally to view an entire row. The "sticky" columns remain in the display window when the user enters a command for horizontal scrolling. A similar prior art method is used in Microsoft Corporation's Excel spreadsheet application, in which a user may select a row, column, or cell, and choose to "freeze panes," which splits the window, thereby causing all rows and columns above and to the left of the selected position to remain frozen in place while the rest of the display remains responsive to scrolling commands. In the prior art, a user also may make additional room in the window by designating a row or column as hidden, which suppresses its display until said row or column is unhidden by a user command.
Still another prior art method is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,621,876, which teaches a method for increasing the number of columns in the display by adding an additional column when the user selects an "increase activator" button. This method makes the window larger, if the additional column will fit on the display screen. Otherwise, it makes the other columns narrower to accommodate the additional column.
The present invention overcomes the deficiencies of existing systems by dividing the columns in a wide table into a plurality of segments, and displaying each table segment in a section or pane of the window, while making the plurality of table segments function as a single table. Visually, the effect is that of breaking the table into multiple-column segments, each of which is as wide as the display window, and displaying all segments in panes that are vertically stacked on top of each other.
It is a principal object of the present invention to allow a computer user to view an entire wide record of tabular data, displayed as a row in a single window, with reduced or eliminated need for horizontal scrolling.
It is a further object of the invention to allow the user to visually compare two or more rows at a glance, by displaying a plurality of rows in their entirety.
Further objects and advantages of this invention will become apparent from the detailed description of a preferred embodiment, which follows.